Summary

• Animals in The Far Side comic strip engage in hilarious and surreal situations, such as giraffes getting stuck in gopher holes.
• The strip turns drinking contests on its head, with camels competing to see how long they can go without water instead of alcohol.
• The Far Side takes well-known stories, like the Three Little Pigs, and transforms them into funny scenarios, like a heavy-breathing wolf huffing and puffing on the phone.

Talking animals are a sight too fun to up, as cartoonist Gary Larson proved plenty of times throughout the run of his comic strip, The Far Side. Whether it's in an animated movie or in an absurd comic strip, animals talking can always be interesting. But The Far Side's surreal tone makes the idea talking animal situations even more hilarious.

In the various scenarios of the strip, the animals may be talking in anthropomorphized scenes where they've taken the form of party guests with some unique tastes. Or they could be in their typical settings, like the African savanna, but made funny through Larson's distinct spin on reality. When looking at The Far Side, there's a guaranteed laugh somewhere, and nowhere is that more clear than in Larson's strips featuring animals.

10 "Gopher Holes"

Published in 1983

Giraffes, being the tall, lanky creatures that they are, have their own special challenges in traversing the savanna. Evidently, as seen in this strip, gopher holes are a pretty notable hazard for the long-necked animals. In the strip, a giraffe named Roger is seen with his entire body covered underground with only his head visible. A fellow giraffe then chastises poor Roger for failing to to look out for gopher holes. The unfortunate Roger is neck deep in trouble, literally.

9 "Two Macho Idiots"

Published in 1991

Camels have the unique distinction of being one of the very few mammals who can go without water for a long period of time. The Far Side uses this animal fact and uses it to make a hilarious strip that inverses drinking behavior as most people know it. Typically, drinking contests involve drinking as much alcohol as possible without getting sick. In the opposite world of The Far Side, the camels of the strip go toe to toe seeing how long they can go without taking a drink of water. This kind of game of chicken drinking behavior is a bad idea in the real world and, as noted by one of the fellow camels, in The Far Side too.

8 "Chewing Your Cud"

Published in 1984

Chewing gum in class is usually a big no-no in schools. The same rule apparently applies to the bovine variety as well. A cow is leading a group of peers on a game plan of how to escape the farmer until Muriel rudely interrupts with her cud chewing. While cows are known for constantly chewing, Muriel could at least hold it for the five minutes the head cow needs to explain their all-important plan.

7 "Huffing And Puffing"

Published in 1981

Larson was talented at transforming traditional and well-known stories into his own funny, ridiculous scenarios. In the case of this strip, he has twisted the Three Little Pigs into a wolf that's a heavy breather, and three pigs who have to deal with this obscene caller. One of the pigs may be misconstruing the huffing and puffing on the phone, but that just makes the strip all the more hilarious.

6 "Eat Like Kings"

Published in 1983

Spiders would not be counted as most people's favorite member of the animal kingdom. They usually evoke terror rather than awe. Consequently, spiders are not typically painted as good guys, much like in this Far Side strip. Two spiders are conspiring to snatch their prey through their web, which is a familiar sight to many. However, these particular spiders have lofty goals and aim to trap children coming down a slide. These arachnids may be biting off more than they can chew.

5 "Sheep Dip"

Published in 1985

Everybody loves chips and dips, but sheep and dip, not so much. For wolves, however, sheep and dip seems like a delectable delicacy too good to up. As Larson portrays, wolves at a party dig in to some of Carol's sheep dip, which they can't seem to get enough of. Unfortunately for the sheep, the wolves cannot contain themselves about the delicious dip. Seeing as how sheep are wolves' prey, Carol knew her audience for her famous dish.

4 "Relax, Jerry!"

Published in 1983

While elephants have literally thick skin, it doesn't mean that they are immune to offensive jokes about their species. In The Far Side, humans and elephants communicate like normal. They talk and laugh like anyone else, but they also have their disagreements like people do. When the guys the elephants are seated with make a joke that Jerry the elephant does not find humorous, Jerry is furious. Only his buddy is able to calm Jerry down. Despite his friend trying to reason with him, it doesn't appear that Jerry believes his claims that the joke never would have been said if they knew they were elephants.

3 "Snap Right Off"

Published in 1983

Bears were a favored subject of Gary Larson, popping up frequently in The Far Side, where they were shown behaving as they would act in nature or made anthropomorphized. In this strip from the early 80s, bears engage in a very important conversation. Two circus bear performers come to the realization that their muzzles snap right off, implanting the idea of a great (and easy) escape. Of all the comic strips where animals talk, this strip is likely the one where the animals benefit the most.

2 "Something's Going On"

Published in 1984

Polar bears may be one of the cutest and most beloved animals. However, they are not exactly the cuddly creatures they appear to be. Instead, they are ferocious hunters and major predators of the tundra environment. They are carnivores through and through, and in this strip they can be seen putting another cute animal in danger: the penguin. As Larson points out, a polar bear is a hazard to penguins, but a polar bear disguised as a penguin is a surefire way to decrease the penguin population.

1 "Six More Weeks"

Published in 1987

Kangaroos' natural jumping ability is one of their top defining features. Consequently, it is absolutely baffling as to why a kangaroo would want or need a pogo stick. Based on the roughed up appearance of the pogo-ing marsupial, they have gotten into an accident of some sort. Therefore, they need the pogo stick to resume their usual jumping, as a human might use a crutch or cane to assist in walking after an injury. As The Far Side points out in this hilarious strip, there actually is a decent recent for a kangaroo to have a pogo stick after all.